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He spent an entire Friday afternoon teaching co-star Nagma what Bengali hospitality was all about. But Sharad Kapoor himself is all ga-ga over the kind of love and support he has found from directors and co-stars in Bollywood. “It was such a pleasure working with the likes of Farhan Akhtar and Amitabh Bachchan for Lakshya. Farhan’s such a gentleman he apologised more than 700 times before cutting seven scenes of mine in the film. And Amitji — he is an institution; I’ve known him for a long time but got to work with him for the first time and it was really amazing.”
Up next, Sharad will be seen steaming up the screen with Manisha Koirala, Preeti Jhangiani and Aryan Vaid in Chahat: Ek Nasha. “It is a bold film where I play Manisha’s bodyguard. We’ll be off to London in September to wrap up the last schedule,” said the man who will be home for the next two weeks, shooting for his second Bengali film, Parinam.
But it is the autumn of ’04 time that Sharad is really looking forward to. “I am part of the Karan Johar–Shah Rukh Khan co-production directed by Karan’s erstwhile assistant Soham. It is a thriller set in the jungles with a whole lot of lions and tigers thrown in. It has a brilliant script and should take Indian cinema to a different league altogether. You have to move away from the oft-repeated fare.”
Having made it on his own, isn’t the Alipore boy sore about the star system in tinsel town? “That will be there all the time. Stars are like kena jamai — you have to keep pampering them,” laughed Sharad.
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| Rani Mukherjee: Sister act |
It’s not a Friday. Ram Mukherjee has long hung up his directorial megaphone. Rani has no release lined up. Yet, the Mukherjees of Bollywood are feeling a shade nervous. This week is as crucial as any film’s first week run. Rani’s elder brother Rajaa (who designed her dresses for 14 films till Calcutta Mail) has turned producer. Prratima (spelling courtesy numerologist Bansilal Jumani), his first venture, will be beamed on Sahara Manoranjan from Monday, 2 pm.
The story shows how a woman’s love wins over the entire family including the tyrannical mother-in-law. Rajaa zeroed in on Prratima as his father, director of blockbusters like Tomar Raktey Amar Sohag and Raktey Lekha, had once written a screenplay for it. But there is little similarity with the original or the screenplay. “I have made the story totally contemporary. Though the two families remain Bengali — Roy and Ghosh — I have added a lot of characters from other communities to give it a pan-Indian feel,” explains Rajaa, busy supervising the editing at Krishna Vision studio in Andheri. The lead role is being played by Jyoti, Rajaa’s wife, who has acted in serials like Kitty Party, Mulk and Manzil Apni Apni.
A launch party was held at The Club, in Andheri on August 13. “It was a small gathering attended by Jyoti’s small-screen colleagues and a few from the film fraternity close to us,” says mother Krishna. The list, she adds, included Anil and Sunita Kapoor (“Rani is very close to her”), Ravi Chopra and family (“We have known them since Debashree did Mahabharata”), Govinda (“He took such good care of me during Hadh Kar Di Aapne that he is like my son now”), Yash Chopra and Karan Johar (“They have helped Rajaa immensely as producer”).
Would it not have given the serial a boost if Rani made an appearance? “Rani is my biggest critic and has offered a lot of crucial suggestions. But I will never want her to be distracted from her goal. She is no. 1 in Bollywood and has a long way to go. And as she herself points out, many TV shows have failed despite the presence of big stars.”
The family will not be watching the first episode together, though. Rani will be in Calcutta with her father to attend her grandmother’s dance school programme.
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| Avril Lavigne: Up and above |
Seven-and-a-half hours of pure music, 20 live acts and 100,000 fans — a heady combination that spelt entertainment with a capital E. Not a fool’s paradise, but one on earth — in Hyde Park, London, actually. The annual extravaganza that Party In The Park has become, attracts some of the biggest, best and most promising names in the international music industry, performing on an open stage. This year’s event, held last month, was no different.
Organised by a local radio station for the Prince’s Trust, the aim was to raise money for charity. But you can watch all the action for free, at home, when Star World broadcasts it on Tuesday night, at 9 pm. The show, condensed into two hours, promises the best of the action though.
While Prince Charles sat it out, there was plenty of blue blood on stage, with rock royalty like Lenny Kravitz and Alanis Morissette and newcomer Avril Lavigne, as well as singing stars Nelly Furtado, Anastacia and Jamelia. Not to forget the voices — and lovely faces — of Sugababes and the sisters Corr.
Rapper Sean Paul, Darren Hayes (one half of Savage Garden), Blue, Will Young, Peter Andre, Lionel Richie and many more were in fine form, with screaming fans egging them on. Did we mention the show was co-hosted by Geri Halliwell? She had on the most outlandish outfit…
Mad Mike and Mark. Unconventional safari guides and wildlife photographers who have teamed up to track and shoot (on camera) Africa’s wild. Caught in the middle of one-and-a-half million wild beasts gathered to give birth, the duo tries to capture images that do justice to the frantic few weeks of feeding and breeding.
Such unique experiences of unique people have always been on view on Animal Planet. Beginning Monday, the channel is starting a series called New Faces, showcasing six new anchors through the week.
If Mad Mike and Mark’s exploits are on beam Mondays, 10 pm, the other days have no less excitement in store. On Wednesday, Bruce George, the snake buster, flies to the Gulf of Carpentaria in north Australia, one of the world’s few large wildernesses. He meets Bryan Fry and the two survey as many sea snakes as they can and manage to catch two of the deadliest.
All in a day’s work. And a night’s viewing.
